All posts tagged: vegan options

#209 ‘Beet the roots’ at Ellis Gourmet Burger, Louvain

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restaurant review #209 – Ellis Gourmet Burger is part of a chain of restaurants, with several locations in Belgium and the Netherlands. There is one vegan burger standardly available: “beet the roots”, which is made with (the name already gives it away) beet roots. We were at the restaurant in Leuven (Louvain, close to Brussels) during the Summer. The restaurant has a nice interior. There’s also a large terrace outside in front of the restaurant. We inquired about any other vegan options. The waitress was very friendly and went to check ingredients/allergenes with the kitchen. The Portobello burger could be made vegan: without the bun, and without the cheese (but not much remains then; in hindsight, I wonder why they cannot just take the buns from the vegan beet the roots burger?). The other vegetarian burgers were said to be not vegan. So we both ordered the vegan ‘beet the roots’ burger (11€), with fries (3,70€). Fries are baked in vegetable oil. The burger and fries came with mayo. The waitress realized her mistake, and came …

#200 Nice dinner at vegetarian resto De Brugsche Tafel, Bruges (2)

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restaurant review #200 – Wow, time flies! When I started this blog at the end of 2013, I could never have imagined that I would one day publish restaurant review number 200 🙂  In those five years, the vegan scene in Bruges and Flanders and Belgium, has changed quite a lot! While there were only a handful of restaurants that served vegan options in 2013, the list with places in Bruges where one can now enjoy a vegan breakfast, lunch or dinner is steadily growing (list outside Bruges, see here).  There’s of course still a lot of progress to be made, and many places remain very traditional and oldskool, but still, there is change and hope! Restaurant De Brugsche Tafel, in the city center is a great example of that evolution. This traditional family restaurant, run by Pol and Charlotte, used to serve the local classics: stew, mussles, steak. At the end of 2017 they added some vegan options to the menu. And only a couple of months later, in June 2018, the restaurant went …

#190 Pizza and crema Catalana at Vegetalia Born, Barcelona

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restaurant review #190  – Vegetalia is a vegetarian restaurant in the city center of Barcelona, with several locations in the city (Gotico, Raval, Born).  We went to the one in Born, in the historic city center of Barcelona. Vegetalia Born is at the corner of a square at the Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar, and sitting at the window, we had a nice view on the square. This review is from a visit a couple of months ago, during our short trip to Barcelona (More reviews of Barcelona HERE). We arrived here a bit after lunch time. Vegatalia Born is a busy place, but there were some empty tables. There was a mixed public of young and old, and I think a lot of visitors were locals (not tourists). Vegan options are indicated on the menu. There are also fresh juices available. We were served some egg plant (free appetizer). We had a glass of wine (3,50€) and juice (4,20€) and some olives (2,60€). We ordered a vegan pizza (9,50€) and the catalan creme, …

#179 Nice dinner at vegetarian restaurant Farmacy, London

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restaurant review #179 – Farmacy is a vegetarian restaurant on the north side of Hyde Park. We had already passed by Farmacy during our Summer visit to London in 2017, but then we had already eaten at nearby restaurant Redemption. Farmacy has a no reservations policy, which I find very unfortunate. I often avoid going to restaurants with a no-reservation policy, as I have mobility issues (sometimes use a wheelchair). When dining out, I will always try to make a reservation, as I want to be sure I will have a spot. It is not so easy to navigate in a fully packed restaurant. And if one is met with a long queue and not sure how long it will last, it is for me also not always possible to decide last minute to go somewhere else (especially if vegan options in that region are not so abundant). We took our chances and went for an early dinner, and luckily, were one of the firsts in the restaurant. Farmacy is a nice place. It has a …

#174 Sandwiches and wraps from Pret a Manger, London

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restaurant review #174 – Pret a Manger is a ‘healthy’ fastfood chain with several restos around the world (UK, US, France, and now also one in the Netherlands in Utrecht). One can easily recognise the restaurants with the distinguishable red logo. Pret A Manger offers light breakfast and lunch options, like soup, salads, baguettes and wraps, and has several items suitable for vegans. Some of their locations are also vegetarian (veggie prets, with vegan options) and have a characteristic green design. We have visited several Pret a Manger in London. Technically, this is not really a restaurant review, as we did not have our meals on site, but simply bought take away. But I wanted to post some photos of the food we bought at Pret a Manger during our last trip to London. All in all: good value for money, a good and freshly prepared snack. The amount of plastic packaging is a real pity though. The website mentions that Pret a Manger wants to have 100% recycable, reusable or compostable plastic, and eliminate all unnecessary …

#168 Vegan options at The Sister, Brussels

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restaurant review #168 – The Sister is a small cafe in the heart of Brussels, in an alley leading to the Grand Place (the central market place, where the city hall is). The alley is called the ‘Vlees & Broodstraat’ by the way (the meat and bread street). The Sister has a nice selection of vegan options, clearly indicated on the menu. The café also offers a wide variety of Belgian beers. Here is a part of the menu, with vegan options clearly indicated: We were here for an early dinner, before going to a music show at the nearby Ancienne Belgique. This is what we had: sesame lentil falafel, comes with soup (12€) sweet wrap (6€) We had very mixed feelings about the food. The sweet wrap was very cheap (6€), but this was not the ‘hearty’ sweet wrap that I had in mind when ordering. It came on a sort of cabbage or lettuce leaf, and was hardly ‘wrapped’ at all, but held together with a string. A strange combination with the sweet peanut …

#166 Very nice lunch at Hashtag Food, Bruges (4)

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restaurant review #166 –  Hashtag Food is a restaurant at the edge of Bruges. It is not a vegan restaurant, but they have several vegan options standardly available.  Hashtag Food used to be in the city center, but in the Fall of 2017, the restaurant moved to a quieter area at the edge of the city, near the Scheepsdalebrug. We have visited Hashtag Food on several occasions throughout the years. Previous reviews of Hashtag Food are here. But this was our first visit to the new location at the Scheepsdalebrug. This review is from a visit at the beginning of this year. The new location is a nicely renovated place, with earth and wood like colours dominating the atmosphere. The old vinyl records as placemats have remained. I love the idea, but as a music lover, also have some heartache using vinyl this way! The menu options have changed somewhat. The only vegan appetizer is a tapas selection. Options to make combinations (eg potatoe wedges on the side) are gone, as it became too difficult to …

#164 Asian style fastfood at Vegesana, Barcelona

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restaurant review #164 – Vegesana is a vegetarian restaurant in the city center of Barcelona. Not far from Plaça Catalunya. Vegesana is an asian style restaurant, and has lots of faux meat dishes on the menu. The restaurant has a small entrance and a small front room, but it there’s a second room at the back of the restaurant, which we were asked to take place. The menu is very extensive, with lots of faux meats. Hard to choose! Most items are vegan, some dishes are with egg, but can also be ordered without eggs. We were immediately served this small snack as an appetizer: This is what we ordered: tofu brochettes (3,95€) tempura (8,90€) tofu dish (8,90€) with noodles on the side (noodles were said to be without eggs)  (5,50€) vegan gambas (9,50€) with rice on the side (5,90€) Glass of water was 2€ (no large bottles available). The main dishes: The food came very fast, and seemed to be served ‘as was ready’ in the kitchen (strange as the restaurant was hardly full …

#161 Vegan burgers and more at Flooh’s, Roeselare

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restaurant review #161 – Flooh’s is a burger – fastfood type restaurant in the city center of Roeselare. Flooh’s has several vegan options (or vegetarian dishes that can easily be veganised) standardly available. We were here a couple of weeks ago for lunch. The ground level isn’t really big with the counter (where you order) and some bar stools to sit at, but besides that, the restaurant has two upstairs floors , with plenty of seating places. It’s a nicely renovated place, bright and modern interior. Vegan options are indicated on the large chalkboard at the counter. One standard vegan burger (the Bizarro), and three that can be veganised. Fries are baked seperatedly, in vegetable oil. Bread buns were said to be vegan (brown or white bun option). The lady running the place was very knowledgeable about ingredients and what vegan means, as she said to be vegan herself. Which was reassuring! We placed our order and went upstairs, to the second floor. Our food was said to be brought to the table (good thing, …

#158 Vegan sandwiches and salads at EXKi, Bruges

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restaurant review #158 – The Exki restaurants are part of an international chain. There are several EXKi restaurants in Belgium, most are in Brussels though (27 of them, previous review of EXKi Agora Brussels here). There’s also an EXKi in the train station of Bruges. Contrary to common belief, it is not an full organic chain (the FAQ on their website states about 30% of their products are organic). The EXKi restaurants have a couple of vegan options standardly available, which are clearly indicated on the labels: sandwiches, salads, soup. Unfortunately no vegan desserts though (except for some fruit). The Exki restaurants are not for elaborate wining and dining, but more of a fastfood ‘self service’ place: you take your food from the fridges, pay at the counter, and then afterwards clean up the table. There’s also a microwave to heat your dish. You can of course also buy to take-away. There are not that many vegan options, but it is good for a quick lunch, when you are in a hurry, coming back from a meeting, or before boarding the train. This …